Kenneth Schweller ’68, professor of computer science and psychology at Buena Vista University in Iowa, has been named chair of the board of the Great Ape Trust. The trust is a scientific research facility in Des Moines, dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools, and intelligence, and to the preservation of endangered great apes in their natural habitats. The trust is home to a colony of seven bonobos, and will collaborate with the organization Bonobo Hope, also in Des Moines, to fundraise for the international effort to support bonobos around the world. Schweller, who majored in English at Wesleyan, received his PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Illinois. He teaches courses in artificial intelligence, software engineering, compiler theory, and programming languages at Buena Vista.
Frances Goitia Padilla ’81 was appointed president of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, a nonprofit that has lobbied for universal health care in the state. Padilla, who joined the foundation in 2004 and served as executive vice president, succeeds Juan A. Figueroa, the founding president, in September. The foundation employs an activist philanthropy approach to build a movement for universal health care by funding results-oriented outreach, education, and mobilization. Padilla directed the foundation’s research and policy initiatives, which culminated in the development of Connecticut’s historic SustiNet health care reform policy in 2009. Padilla currently serves on the Governor’s SustiNet Health Care Cabinet, charged with overseeing the implementation of federal health care reform under the Affordable Care Act with state-based health care reform initiatives. A psychology major at Wesleyan, she holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) presented its sixth annual Emissary Award to Greg Zlotnick ’86, a longtime water leader whose involvement with the association spans more than a decade. ACWA President Paul Kelley says, “Greg Zlotnick is in a class by himself when it comes to sustained involvement and dedication over the years.” Zlotnick’s involvement in the issues surrounding water management in California was inspired by his CSS honors thesis, “Rivers of Controversy: California Water Politics, A Primer.” Zlotnick served over 10 years as an elected member of the Board of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Silicon Valley’s water management agency, chairs ACWA’s Groundwater Committee, and is in his 13th year on the ACWA Board of Directors. After receiving a BA from the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan, Zlotnick graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, and became a member of the California bar.
New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., announced the appointment of Polly Greenberg ’90 as chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau. She joined the office in 1993, starting in the Appeals Bureau and later in the Investigations Division. After leaving the office in late 2000 for private practice, Greenberg returned in 2005, and prosecuted primarily organized crime cases. She was appointed deputy bureau chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau shortly after its creation two years ago, and has been instrumental in setting bureau priorities and in collaborating with outside agencies to broaden the reach of the bureau. She has supervised wiretap investigations, as well as investigations into and prosecutions of securities, bank and mortgage fraud, and international and domestic money laundering. She graduated from Wesleyan with high honors in American studies and received her law degree from New York University School of Law.
The Indignant Generation: A Narrative History of African American Writers and Critics, 1934–1960, by Lawrence Jackson ’90, has received the 2011 William Sanders Scarborough Prize from the Modern Language Association as well as the Black Caucus of the American Library Association literary award in the nonfiction category. The book was also a finalist for the Hurston/Wright nonfiction book prize. The Modern Language Association called the book a “magisterial narrative history of African American literature” and “beautifully written and rich in historical detail.” Jackson majored in African American Studies at Wesleyan, received his master’s degree in English from Ohio State University, and received his PhD in English and American literature from Stanford University in 1997. He is a professor of English and African American Studies at Emory University.
Andre Kikoski ’90 received the Institute Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, their highest recognition nationally, for his creation of The Wright, the new restaurant in the Guggenheim Museum. Kikoski’s work was selected from more than 700 submissions, and he was one of only 27 recipients worldwide who was to be honored at the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington, D.C., in May. Said Kikoski, “It was both an incredible honor and an exhilarating challenge to create The Wright…which is the first addition to the building’s iconic interior.” The jury called Kikoski’s project “sensitively handled and respectful of the essence of the original architecture.” Kikoski, an English major at Wesleyan, earned his master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University. His firm, Andre Kikoski Architect, PLLC, is located in New York City.
After a national search, Joshua Borenstein ’97 was appointed managing director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, confirmed by unanimous vote at a special session of the Board of Trustees. “Josh was simply the best candidate,” said Charles Kingsley, board chair, in a press release. “He’s been serving as the interim managing director for the past six months and he’s done a wonderful job.” Gordon Edelstein, artistic director, praised Borenstein for his combination of “wisdom, strength, practical theatrical knowhow with strategic savvy.” Prior to his tenure at Long Wharf Theatre, Borenstein was involved in the “New Generations: Mentoring the Leaders of Tomorrow” program at the Huntington Theatre Company He has served in various roles at Yale Repertory Theatre and at Trinity Repertory Company. At Wesleyan, Borenstein majored in classical civilization, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and earned his degree with honors. He earned a master of fine arts in theatre management from the Yale School of Drama; he has been a guest lecturer at Yale University and at Boston University.
Jerry M. Melillo ’65, Distinguished Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), was named chair of a joint public-private sector committee that will produce the next National Climate Assessment report for the United States. Melillo, co-author of the landmark report to Congress, “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States,” issued by the USGCRP, was also a lead author on both the 1990 and 1995 Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and he served in President Clinton’s Office of Science and Technology Policy from 1996–97. He has been on the scientific staff at MBL since 1976, and is a professor of biology at Brown University. At Wesleyan, he majored in biology and then earned his MAT in 1968, followed by his doctorate from Yale. His research focuses on the impacts of human activities on the biogeochemistry of terrestrial ecosystems, and modeling analysis of the feedbacks and impacts of climate change.
Paul Mason ’77 was promoted to senior vice president of ABC News, with responsibility for Nightline, This Week, ABC News Radio, World News Now, World News This Morning, and Good Morning America’s news inserts. In addition, Mason will oversee ABC News’ coverage of the political conventions and general election. A 23-year veteran of ABC News, Mason is an Emmy award-winning producer whose credits range from international coverage to investigations for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Primetime Live, and 20/20. He was part of the ABC News team that was honored with the George Foster Peabody and Alfred I. DuPont awards for coverage of the 9/11 terror attacks. He holds a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.
Photographer Stephen Gorman ’82 received the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association for his book, Arctic Visions: Encounters at the Top of the World, a lavish and memorable tribute to the land, sea, wildlife, and people of Canada’s North. Gorman traveled throughout the Canadian Arctic and the Northwest Passage aboard the expedition ship Lyubov Orlova for four seasons, giving him an unprecedented opportunity to take pictures of some of our planet’s most spectacular landscapes and wildlife populations
